I went to Japan 🇯🇵

I recently saw this meme and realised that I’m a walking cliche:

I’ve ticked off three out of four of the millennial tropes. I run, I started playing pickleball this year, I looked into going back to uni last year (and I would’ve done it, if not for the exorbitant costs), and so that left one thing left to do… go to Japan.

Quarter life crisis or no, I’d been wanting to do a trip somewhere in Asia for a few years now. I kept putting it off - truth to be told, I was a little nervous to travel so far, intimidated by the vibrant chaos of places I’d only seen on TV - Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, etc. My only association with Japan until a couple of years ago was anime, fastidious etiquette and neon lights. It was only when I started researching it properly that I realised Japan has way more to offer than that - including some of the most stunning nature and rich culture I had ever seen. So, after a few colleagues went and came back raving about it, I jumped (tentatively) on the Japan bandwagon.

The thing about Japan is that there’s a lot to see. I spent ages trying to research a perfect itinerary, quickly realising that you simply can’t do everything you’d like in one trip. My priorities were nature and vibes, which narrowed down the planning process quite a bit. Unless you want to do touristy stuff like theme parks, specialist museums, Tokyo Skytree, etc. (we didn’t do any of that stuff this time - also, you have to book tickets MONTHS in advance), I don’t think you need to over-plan. Just decide which towns or cities you want to go to, book your accommodation and trains (stuff is surprisingly cheap once you get there) then you’re good to go. That said, this is the itinerary we landed on:

Tokyo (2 nights)

Kanazawa (3 nights)

Kyoto (5 nights, plus day trips to Osaka and Lake Biwa)

Hakone (2 nights)

Tokyo (3 nights)

Tokyo

It’s a 14 hour flight from London to Tokyo (extra long because we have to skirt around Russia at the moment). I was a little nervous about the journey, given that I don’t LOVE planes - but actually, I really enjoyed it! A whole day of nothing better to do than watch movies, eat snacks, listen to podcasts. It was almost like a forced couch rot day. I can’t sleep on planes, though, and the jet lag did kick, but nothing too bad at all.

I thought I wouldn’t like Tokyo - I was anticipating chaos and overstimulation in one of the biggest cities in the world. But the reality wasn’t like that at all. Yes, it was busy, but Japanese culture produces an air of calmness and respect that I found really refreshing. It didn’t feel as high-rise and edgy as New York, or as hectic and eclectic as London. No looking over your shoulder, no constant vigilance like we have in major cities in Europe. The architecture is weirdly satisfying, too - very narrow architectural buildings overlaid with details like billboards, signs and tangled electricity wires. And the FOOD. My stomach never felt as good as it did when we were in Japan. The food was clean and fresh and right up my street. Overall, I loved Tokyo and would go back in a heartbeat if I could.

Kanazawa

After a few days in Tokyo, we caught the bullet train through the rice fields and lush, rolling mountains of rural Japan (I couldn’t help but think of the backdrops in Pokemon - vivid green forests and hazy blue mountains beyond). Kanazawa was the place I wasn’t too sure about - it’s a much smaller city and relatively less travelled to than places like Kyoto and Osaka.

But again, I was pleasantly surprised - Kanazawa had a much more laid-back vibe than Tokyo. There were plenty of historical and cultural sights, like the samurai and geisha districts, without the crowds of Kyoto. The city centre area felt quite upmarket with designer stores and office blocks cosied up next to edo-period teahouses and shinto shrines, but that was the joy of it. Oh, and we had the best meal we had the entire trip from a place called Ramen Taiga - we waited in the rain for about an hour for it, but it was worth it.

Other highlights were the Kenroku-en Gardens, the shinto shrines dotted around the city, yuzu coffee, 7-Elevens (absolutely god-tier supermarket, the Co-op could never) and drinking sake in a speakeasy, tucked away in the loft of an old man’s house. I wasn’t sure about Kanazawa but I’m so glad we went - it ended up being one of my favourite places from the trip.

Kyoto

I’d heard a lot of people say Kyoto is one of the coolest cities in the world, so I stepped off the bullet train with very high expectations.

There’s definitely a charm to Kyoto - it’s less high-rise than Tokyo, a lot smaller, with broad avenues, shopping centres and a sizeable old town. But two things - it was HOT. Like, ten degrees hotter than anywhere we’d been so far, as if had its own weird, searing microclimate. And it was absolutely packed with tourists. I can’t really complain about that (it’s me, I am tourist) but the throngs of people making it difficult to walk down the main streets and English voices clanging about on all sides affected the atmosphere a bit for me. That said, Nishiki Market is cool (if you can bear the busyness) and the riverside had great energy at night, with people dotted all along its banks, enjoying the good weather.

We had a very entertaining first night at a jazz bar, speaking to the owners - a wizened-looking man and his very hospitable wife - in very broken and basic Japanese. We looked around the old town at night, when the crowds were gone. We hiked up Mount Kurama and the hills behind Arashiyama to see the shrines, which was a personal highlight for me. We had the best restaurant experience we had on the trip in Kyoto, at this place called Isoism that made banging banana highballs and delicious, fresh small plates that they cooked right in front of you. We actually spent a lot of time in Kyoto Station - interestingly, the place is like a shopping centre in of itself, but classier than the ones we have in the UK. Loads of restaurants and Japanese people genuinely seem to hang out there before catching their trains to wherever they’re going (the Japanese trains are impeccable btw). Speaking of which, Kyoto is a great base for day trips. We stayed there for five nights, which was long for Kyoto but perfect with a few day trips thrown in.

Osaka & Lake Biwa

I’m glad we took the time to hop on a train and see a few places outside Kyoto - Google Translate and Google Maps really do make this so easy. What a world we live in.

Lake Biwa (specifically the town of Otsu) was very pleasant, but there wasn’t an awful lot there. It seemed like more of a residential area where people lived if they needed to commute into Kyoto for work. Osaka, on the other hand, was very interesting - it was more like what I thought Japan would be like before I knew anything more than anime and tech, with bright lights and sounds and smells. It felt grittier than the other places we’d been - people were dressed a little more expressively, there were karaoke bars on every corner, and street food everywhere. We saw the iconic billboards with the running man icon (I’m still not entirely sure what he represents) and wandered the seemingly endless, shadowy market trails into a back street where a friend had recommended an okonomiyaki place called Chitose, a tiny place where they cooked okonomiyaki (Japanese take on omelette) on a hotplate in front of you at the bar. We headed back in rush hour (Osaka Station saw crowds like I’d never seen - but even I was fine with it, I was just so happy to be there). Thanks to Japanese trains, we were back in Kyoto within the hour, and finished the day with a coffee and reading time at a Korean family restaurant near Kyoto Station. What can I say - Sunrise on the Reaping had a chokehold on me during this trip.

Hakone & Sengokuhara

So began our journey back to Tokyo, but not before stopping off in Hakone on the way - which turned out to be my highlight (if I had to pick one) from the trip.

We took the train to Odawara and then caught a very winding bus through lush, vividly green mountains to our ryokan in Sengokuhara, on the northern tip of Lake Ashi (about twenty minutes up the road from the famous Hakone onsen - or hot spa - town). This region, like a lot of Japan, is known for its hot springs, given that Japan has a lot of volcanos (looking at you, Mount Fuji 👀). My understanding of ryokans is that they’re traditional Japanese inns (kind of like BNBs) that serve two meals a day and often have access to a hot spring. Our ryokan, Shinanoki Ichinoyu, was nestled in the shrine-scattered - and obviously quite wealthy, judging by the houses - hillsides around Lake Ashi. By my making, our balcony came with a forest view and a private onsen. It was HEAVEN. And the food was great - a banquet of small plates, fried fish and broth, with such precision and attention to detail that we ate mostly in silence to give it its due. In the daytime, we went for hikes around the area (including an accidental scaling of Mount Kintoki - it was worth it, though). It was the perfect mix of relaxation, culture and nature - an amazing experience that I wish I could go back to.

Back to Tokyo…

We headed back to Tokyo for a couple of days before our flight home to the UK. We stayed in the same place we did the first time, in an area called Motoyoyogicho, which was an unexpected slam dunk - a cool, mostly residential area of Tokyo with plenty of bars and restaurants, as well as a delicious ‘French’ bakery that rivalled anything we’ve had in France until this point (Main Mano has my heart). I spent the last few days bopping about on the metro/subway/Tube, looking for art prints to bring home and taking my fill of the selection at 7-Eleven before I had to leave it all behind. My favourite print store ended up being Yamada Shoten in Jimbocho. The neighbourhood of Shimokitazawa was cool, too - felt a bit like Shoreditch with all its independent stores and hipster fashion. It was all too easy to shop, given everything was a LOT than I expected (a very pleasant surprise).

All in all, we had an amazing time in Japan and I’m so grateful that we made the effort to go. Funnily enough, going to the other side of the world made me think how small the world is, but how much is out there at the same time. It also gave me a appreciation for where I live, and its own funny quirks. Hopefully one day I can go back to Japan and melt away into an onsen once again… those are memories to last a lifetime ❤️